Entangled
by ofMiceandMagic
Summary: “You can’t get rid of me, Aladdin. You don’t have the guts to finish this here and now,” Mozenrath spat. Aladdin bent his face away. “Maybe not, but you won’t have control over me anymore!”
1. Chapter 1

**Entangled**

_Authors' Note_: This story is the first collaborative work by Cantare (author of "Antiphony") and Katie Ann (author of "Gone"). It's set after the Aladdin series episode 'Two to Tangle' with an alternative ending and features everybody's favorite hero and villain. Through our joint efforts we hope to keep this fandom alive and kicking, delving deeper into the minds of our favorite characters as we try to explore the complex relationships that dominate the universe. Oh, and we want to make you laugh as we do. ;)

Please read and review once you've finished! Remember, secrets don't make friends, but reviews do! Ask us, we know--that's how we met!

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"Is he going to be okay, Genie?"

The jinni shook his head, his eyes never leaving the hero. "I don't know, Jasmine. I just don't know."

They stared at the motionless body of Aladdin and waited, helpless to do anything else.

But Aladdin's mind was a whirlwind of colors and images, memories from his life and from the life he did not understand and had no desire to see. Distinct sensations traveled across his body, sensations he could not control: the goosebumps prickling his skin in a shiver of fear, the light perspiration trickling down his upper lip, the heavy weight of the leather gauntlet as it pulsed and purred with untold legions of dark magic.

His eyes had frozen over in an unseeing gaze and his muscles tightened, rigid with strain. His arm remained in midair, poised to drink from the cup he had just risked life and limb to steal. It was no ordinary cup; within its rim sloshed the Elixir of Life, a magical potion that promised to restore him to his rightful self, one man with one spirit. But the cup has slipped from his fingers moments ago, saved only by the quick reflexes of his friends. He would need the potion once he reemerged from the inner turmoil that plagued his mind and body, if only he could manage to gain control of both those entities in time.

Aladdin could tell he was still within his body but in its immobility he knew only the inside of his mind, which had expanded with the psyche and spirit of his most dangerous enemy. Exhilaration suddenly permeated his veins, quickening his pulse in a glorified thrill for what was to come. He knew hatred then, and also contempt, but most of all wrath, and he was unsure whether it was his own emotion or the product of his enemy.

"You're a snake, Mozenrath!"

Even as he said it, aloud within his mind and also muttered by his lips, the sorcerer sent a pulsating shock coursing through the empty realm of nothingness. Aladdin could feel his feet sunk into the sand in the chamber, but he also felt weightless enough that he nimbly avoided the blast of energy with a quick leap to one side. He rolled around to face the sorcerer and was greeted with a taunt and another blast of magic.

"Can I help it if you're so trusting?" Mozenrath laughed and shook his head, following the street rat's quick pace with his eyes and training his hand to follow. He sent another bolt of light at Aladdin who once again jumped out of the way.

The force of Mozenrath's magic intensified, combined with his strength of will, and Aladdin began to lose the minor sensations that coupled his spirit to his body. He lost the feeling of his feet first, though he could still control their movement within; but even that grew weaker in the face of Mozenrath's ferocity. He shook his head and the thought out of his mind.

"I'll never surrender to you!" Even as Aladdin said it he felt foolish. His agility, even his strength, was no match for Mozenrath's power. His enemy knew this also and spit it back into his face.

"Yes, you will!" Mozenrath aimed carefully and pushed his arm forward, the swirling black and indigo energy throbbing down his arm and away from his fingertips. The well-aimed blast should have hit Aladdin squarely in the chest, but with fluid agility the hero bounded to the left. The magic scraped only his legs, painfully proving that Aladdin had not lost complete feeling. The ball of lightning coursed through his bones, electrifying his flesh, and his body shook violently and fell to the floor, tremors of agony overshadowing any countenance for a verbal comeback.

He screamed, blinded by the pain, and yet his eyes stayed open; he had lost the connection with those also. For the moment all he knew was severe, relentless agony. Despite himself he clung onto that feeling for the small comfort it brought—at least he could still _feel_.

His friends heard the scream of pain uttered from his lips and watched him with fear. Listening to Mozenrath's taunts and Aladdin's resilience, they each formed their own picture of the battle, but it was Jasmine who whispered the singular thought that plagued their imaginations. She looked away and then back at the still form of her lover.

"It sounds like Aladdin is fighting Mozenrath…and losing!"

Within the spheres of Aladdin's mind he heard her voice, and her fear for him buoyed his faith in himself. He would not surrender to Mozenrath's influence over his mind or body; he refused to allow the sorcerer to dominate what did not rightfully belong to him.

"No!" he shouted, hoping desperately to ease her panic, and dodged another attack.

"Yield, Aladdin!"

The hero shook his head adamantly, warily eyeing the sorcerer as he tried to gauge the best plan of attack. He needed to overpower the man if he had any hope of regaining control of his body and forcing the foreign spirit out. His vision adjusted to the changing color of the nothingness that surrounded the two, the wizard's dark robes standing out clearly against its brilliance. Did the color reflect Aladdin's will to live? Or Mozenrath's hatred? Crimson mist blended into a bright orange, and Aladdin felt a pulse of adrenaline that matched his speed.

"I'm not like you, Mozenrath! I don't give up that easily!" Aladdin sprang forward, aiming to strike at the sorcerer.

Mozenrath, his essence close to overcoming that of the street rat, turned to face him fully. "Then maybe it's about time I changed that!" He held up his arm again and sent one last dark blaze of magic at Aladdin.

"NO!" Aladdin shouted. He had been so close to Mozenrath that the rapid bolt reached him much more quickly than expected. He held his arms in front of his chest, preparing to take the brunt of the damage. But even as he turned his face from the heat of the energy, he knew that something strange had occurred. Where was the excruciating pain?

The dark magic had not reached Aladdin's hands. Instead, a warm glow of radiant gold enveloped his palms and spread over his forearms, a glow that blocked the blue coils of dark magic issued from Mozenrath's gauntlet. Aladdin stared at it in wonder and looked up to see a similar expression of surprise plastered on Mozenrath's face. The sorcerer had actually lowered his gauntlet a fraction of an inch, nearly cutting off the flow of magic.

"What? How did you get magic powers?" The question was not meant to be answered and Mozenrath certainly did not believe that Aladdin knew more than he about the mystical phenomenon. Still, he kept his hand aimed at Aladdin and the tendrils of black magic continued to pour forth against the gold.

"It must be my spirit. I guess it has its own mystical power," Aladdin mused as he examined his hands carefully, measuring the spread of the light across his hands and allowing it to tingle the inside of his skin. He looked up at Mozenrath and smirked. "The power to defeat you!"

He straightened his arms in the same manner as Mozenrath, and the bright yellow beam shot out from his palms like lightning until it began to push back the navy streak of the sorcerer's power. Mozenrath looked down in despair, watching his power collapse under the force of Aladdin's spirit. He let out a cry of anguish, but his hands remained taut, refusing to submit.

Outside of Aladdin's body, Genie, Abu, Iago and Carpet let out resounding cheers of glee as they listened to the change in the tide of the battle. Jasmine continued to watch anxiously, stepping back when Genie transformed into a heavily armed SWAT team three dozen strong, mobilized in rows that encircled Aladdin's body. Jasmine, Iago, and Abu stumbled out of the way at the sudden multiplication of so many jinnis in the small space, and Carpet scooped them up easily and floated slightly above the scene. Genie and his many counterparts quickly aimed their futuristic weapons at Aladdin's body, but many of the officers' guns were aimed at other jinnis.

"Don't try any funny business, Mozenrath, or we will be force to shoot ourselves!"

They watched as Aladdin's body shuddered, as though the forces within it were too powerful for one person to hold. Genie pressed closer to the hero, and over the muttering that issued from Aladdin's stiff lips, they all heard a loud crunch under his feet. Jasmine's hand moved automatically to the satchel on her back, and she realized with dread that the statue she had been charged with safeguarding no longer lay within it. It must have fallen out in the commotion caused by Genie.

Her eyes grew wide in alarm as she hunted for the sculpture shaped like the sorcerer, the wooden figure that was essential in returning Mozenrath to his original body. She found it lying crumbled next to Aladdin's motionless feet, the tread of Genie's boot in the dusty ground evident even from a distance. It lay in pieces, shattered by the stomping of the many jinnis in their haste to ensure the hero's safety.

Jasmine gasped, her hand flying to her open mouth as she focused her eyes on Aladdin again. There was no way to tell which man was winning the spiritual battle within, but she knew that only one could win without costing the other dearly.

"Aladdin! The statue is broken!"

The struggle against the sorcerer had drained so much of his strength that it took a long moment for him to hear the voice shouting at him faintly through the fog of battle. He managed to focus his blurred vision on Mozenrath, who looked alarmed but resolute, and both of them heard her clearly at last.

The competing streams of magic continued to course between them even as the urgency in her words pleaded for them to stop. They stood within arm's reach of each other now, the struggle having drawn them close enough for Aladdin to strike at his enemy point-blank. But he knew instantly what needed to be done. Looking at the sorcerer through the shimmer of hostile magic, he could see the obvious fatigue draining what little color remained in his face even as the man continued to pour dark energy into the space between them.

"You can't get rid of me, Aladdin. You don't have the guts to finish this here and now," Mozenrath spat, his pained expression belying the troubled anger within.

Aladdin bent his face away from Mozenrath's, shielding his eyes from the blaze of light between them. "Maybe not, Mozenrath, but you won't have control over me anymore!"

Their hands were so close that Aladdin took a short step forward and pressed his palms against his enemy's. With a sneer Mozenrath dug his nails into Aladdin's right hand, but the latter ignored the pain and brought his knee up in a lightning quick motion, incapacitating the sorcerer in the fastest way known to man.

The sorcerer's expression froze in a combination of soundless shock and extreme pain, and the current of power faded from his hands immediately. Aladdin stepped back, feeling his own magic dissipate from his palms, and gave his enemy an apologetic look.

"Sorry. Desperate times call for desperate measures."

He drew back his fist and knocked the stunned man out cold.

"Genie, what happened?" Jasmine asked in alarm as Aladdin's rigid body sank to its knees, his face twisted in a uniquely pained expression. She placed a hand on his shoulder, but he still did not move.

Genie, now a singular entity once again, exchanged reluctant looks with Iago and Abu. "Uh..."

For once, the parrot seemed hesitant to speak. "I think someone just violated international sports regulations."

Aladdin looked down at the sorcerer's prone form, the burden on his spirit completely gone. He connected the sensations he felt from within and outside his mind and let the last bits of adrenaline drain from his body. He could still feel a slight discomfort, like a bad headache, in some corner of his head and knew that Mozenrath remained, although he was no longer a threat. At least for the moment.

He sighed."I'm surprised you didn't think of that before I did."

The hero surveyed the scene, attempting to discern the way out from his indistinguishable surroundings. He wondered briefly if there was some sort of spell required to return his complete control, but no sooner had he entertained the thought when he found a bright light dazing his vision. He stepped forward into it and, after blinking for a moment, realized that he was back in the outside chamber, looking directly into the worried eyes of his friends and loved ones. He slowly moved his arm from its awkward position and felt his muscles relax. He realized belatedly that he had fallen to his knees, and stood up quickly, dusting off his pants in slight embarrassment. His friends were staring at him in apprehension and doubt.

"Hey guys, it's me. Really." His voice sounded strange as it echoed in the recesses of the room and not the corners of his mind, and it took a moment for him to regain his senses. His friends sighed in relief, and although he recognized Iago's sarcastic remarks and Abu's immediate chattering, he could not make sense of the situation.

Still dizzy, he placed a hand on his forehead and rubbed his temples slowly, and it took a moment for him to acknowledge the smooth leather that covered his right hand. The hero held his hand in front of him, staring curiously at the gauntlet that encased his fingertips and forearm. When his vision cleared further, he saw again that his friends were standing before him and put his arm down. Genie was dressed in a black uniform holding sort of foreign weapon, Iago and Abu were peering at him from above Carpet, suspended in midair, and Jasmine stood nearby, clutching the broken pieces of the statue with both hands. She was the first to step forward, and she held the shards before him in open palms so that he, too, could survey the damage. She did not ask him to prove himself, but seemed to know his true identity even without a close inspection.

Aladdin held both hands out to her, one to grasp the damaged figurine and the other to embrace her. Jasmine slid her hand into his and they examined the remains together while Genie shuffled his feet, looking embarrassed and awkward.

"Stupid Genie! Statue broken!"

The gray eel slithered between Aladdin and Jasmine, hissing at the smashed pieces of Mozenrath's body. Aladdin covered the remains with his fingers as the eel sniffed for Mozenrath's presence.

"Now what Master do?" He looked up at the group as though expecting an answer.

Aladdin looked past the eel in distaste, seeing Jasmine's concerned face. "Where's the elixir?"

Genie produced the cup from somewhere on his person, but looked dubious as he handed it to his friend. "Sorry Al, I should have been more careful. I'll turn in my gun and badge by the end of the day."

Aladdin shook his head gently and smiled at his friend before holding the chalice up and peering at the purple liquid inside. He could feel all their eyes on him, wondering what he would do. He looked at Jasmine to gauge her thoughts on the matter; his mind told him that he should get rid of Mozenrath, once and for all, but his heart, ever the betrayer, reminded him that even evil madmen like Mozenrath deserved a chance. As he swirled the liquid around in the golden cup, his mind gradually grew clearer with the sight of the consequences of each option, and he slowly moved his arm. But then he almost lost his grip on the cup as Xerxes bit his hand.

"Ow!"

"No drink! Aladdin no drink!" the eel snapped, its teeth coming away bloody from Aladdin's finger.

He glared at his enemy's familiar, rubbing his hand gingerly. "Who asked you?" Aladdin made to swat the creature away but it was too quick for him and moved beyond his reach.

"No let Master die!" Xerxes said firmly, but though the eel's voice was still vicious, it was obviously pleading with him.

"It's right, Aladdin," Jasmine said. He looked at her in surprise and saw no traces of doubt in her face. "You can't drink it now."

"But then what am I supposed to--"

He grabbed her arm and jumped backward, tugging her out of harm's way as the roar of a giant monster reverberated through the cave. A split-second later, a gargantuan sand worm slammed headfirst into the ground near them, followed by three others in quick succession. Genie remultiplied into a SWAT team, this time aiming guns in haphazard directions and shooting at random as the captain tried to shout orders above the uproar.

Carpet swept under them, bringing them into the air before they could be snapped up by ravenous teeth. Jasmine clung to Aladdin in alarm, looking wildly around at their other friends. Iago was ferrying Abu to a far corner of the cavern. Multiple jinnis had been flattened against the ground or thrown into the stone walls, and small birds flew in circles around their heads. The main Genie rallied the remaining troops and retreated step by step, guns aimed upward at the furious monsters. The four of them reared up to their full height and roared, shaking the foundations of the room with their rage. Bullets bounced harmlessly off their skin, and soon the rows of jinnis disappeared, leaving behind only one who dashed out of the way with a frightened yelp.

Aladdin swung Carpet around with a forceful tug and went straight toward the center of the room. Jasmine pulled on his shoulder in concern, shouting in confusion. "What are you doing?!"

Two of the worms surged forward and nearly caught the edges of the carpet between their razor sharp teeth, but at the last second Aladdin maneuvered out of the way, and they smashed into each other head-on. The hero kept his gaze focused firmly on the raised dais under the beam of sunlight.

"It's this cup they want! Not us!"

Jasmine caught on immediately. She tugged on his arm to get his attention above the chaos. "Aladdin, we should keep a bit of that! Just in case!"

He nodded quickly and swung Carpet away from the dais, hearing another two worms collide behind them. The ceiling began to crumble, chunks of masonry falling around them and nearly hitting the carpet. Jasmine let go of him and covered her head, urging him to hurry.

"Genie, I need a flask!" Aladdin shouted.

The jinni had transformed into a sleek metal submarine complete with missiles about to fire. The periscope swiveled toward Aladdin with one blinking eye in the lens, and it cruised quickly away from one of the sand worms, its sides already dented from multiple attacks.

The submarine dissipated in a bright poof of magic, and Genie aimed a short blast of magic at Aladdin. The stream of light met his hand, and a flask glittered into view in the grip of his fingers. Carpet flew higher, giving him a few precious seconds to pour an ample amount of the elixir into the flask before he capped it and flew back down toward the platform. The worms growled and lurched upward just as Aladdin slammed the cup down on the stone dais. Jasmine screamed in fear as they were suddenly headed straight into a worm's open jaws.

Aladdin raised his hands defensively and remembered in an instant that he still had Mozenrath's power. Hardly thinking, he summoned power from somewhere within and blasted the worm point-blank in the roof of its cavernous mouth, the momentum from the spell propelling the carpet backwards, out of harm's way. The worm screeched and fell back, writhing on the ground. Aladdin whirled around, ready to face the other three with his gauntleted hand upraised, but to his surprise they were all retreating steadily into the sand, still snarling at him but no longer eager to fight.

"I was right," he said shakily as their heads disappeared into the ground. "They just wanted the cup."

Jasmine hugged him silently, willing her heartbeat to slow down. Carpet floated downward smoothly until they could both step onto solid ground, but still they clung to each other, afraid to let go. Abu ran back toward Aladdin and scampered up his side, chattering in relief. Iago grudgingly landed on Jasmine's shoulder, lamenting about how many tail feathers he had lost in yet another near encounter with death. But before they could celebrate their survival, Xerxes once again appeared and snarled at them anxiously.

"Where Master? Where Master?"

Aladdin looked at Jasmine, who drew in a sharp breath. Her face grew visibly pale. "I must have dropped the pieces..." They both looked to the ground, hastily searching the ground for the pieces they knew were probably lost.

"Oh good, then let's just head back home, I'm sure Mozenrath would have wished to have his remains scattered across a magical cavern of death," Iago said easily. He began to fly away and toward the exit, turning around briefly when he realized no one was following.

Aladdin and Jasmine both put the bird on the defensive with a hard look.

"What?! You actually wanna put him back together?!"

Genie transformed into a rotund potato with a comical face, four limbs, and Mozenrath's dark clothing, complete with a gauntlet, headdress, and cape. He turned two googly eyes toward them. One rotated slightly and fell off his face into the sand.

"Whoops. Could someone get that? Evil Wizard Head constantly falls apart, but putting him back together is the fun part! Gauntlet batteries not included."

Disturbed by the jinni's strange appearance, Aladdin didn't bother to pick up the plastic eye from the ground. "Seriously guys, what should we do? Genie, can you find the pieces of the statue?"

"Sure thing, Sherlock!" In a flash Genie changed into a pack of friendly-looking dogs with checkered hats and eagerly wagging tails, spreading out over the premises with their noses to the ground. In under a minute they all returned to Aladdin's side with their tails tucked between their legs, ears drooping.

"Woof woof!" The dogs paused as if surprised they could not talk, and in another cloud of magic they reverted to Genie's original form. "Sorry Al, the statue's either buried or smashed into even smaller bits. We wouldn't be able to put it back together anyway, since it's not just any ordinary statue."

Aladdin pondered the situation, wondering in the back of his mind if the sorcerer would regain consciousness soon and whether he could successfully fight him off again. But to what end? Aladdin knew he might be able to hold Mozenrath off for a while, but the energy needed to overcome the sorcerer just once had put him on edge. Fighting round after round would leave Aladdin more vulnerable than he could afford to be. He held the key to ending the problem then and there, but his instincts told him he couldn't use it. He knew he would never be shown the same courtesy by his enemy, but that wasn't the point. Aladdin would rather be at the mercy of Agrabah's greatest foe than to cut another life short.

He looked down at the flask in his hand as he contemplated what to do. Jasmine saw the direction of his gaze and shook her head, signaling that one major option was out of the question. He frowned slightly, already in agreement with her but terribly bothered by the consequences of Genie's careless mistake. The master of the Land of the Black Sand was currently out cold within his head, and he had no idea how to get him out without committing murder. He turned toward his friend with a frustrated sigh.

"Then what are we supposed to do, Genie?"

The jinni was at a loss for suggestions. He rubbed the back of his neck and shook his head thoughtfully. Iago slapped one wing to his beak in exasperation. "For now, I'd stick with my earlier advice: don't operate any heavy machinery."

"Well, we shouldn't hang around here," Jasmine said, rubbing Aladdin's shoulder in an attempt to ease the stress he was obviously feeling. "Let's go home and figure it out."

Aladdin nodded slowly, unable to think of anything else. They got on the carpet and flew out of the cavernous room into the open desert once more. As the night air greeted them, Jasmine leaned against his shoulder and he felt slightly comforted by her close presence. She seemed tense, however, as she looked back and saw the gray eel trailing behind them at a distance, appearing lost without its master but still resolute in following them. Aladdin could almost read her thoughts. He cupped her chin and gave her a small, reassuring smile.

"Don't worry, Jasmine, I knocked him out cold."

She placed her hand on his and looked up at him curiously. "How exactly did you manage to do that?"

Aladdin opened his mouth to respond and then quickly shut it and looked away, turning a slight shade of red. Genie noticed his discomfort and intervened.

"Well, I think Al just hit him where the sun doesn't shine," he said hurriedly and stared straight ahead to avoid her gaze.

Jasmine looked quizzically at Genie and then back at Aladdin for a further explanation. "'Where the sun doesn't shine?'"

Iago flapped in front of the princess and ruffled his feathers indignantly. "Yeah, you know Mozenrath: everywhere."

The bird and the jinni caught each other's eye and looked away quickly, barely concealing their laughter. Aladdin simply took Jasmine's hand and pressed his cheek against her hair as they soared over the seemingly endless dunes of sand and back to Agrabah.

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Please review now that you've read! We're always open to constructive criticism, general suggestions, or wtfs?


	2. Chapter 2

"And that's basically what happened, Your Highness," Aladdin finished, standing before the sultan in the throne room. He released the long breath he had held inside as he had struggled to keep the pace of the story. Beside him, Jasmine squeezed his arm in reassurance. The fight against Mozenrath and the guardian worms had taken its toll on him, and he desperately needed rest.

The sultan frowned and looked questioningly at him. "What exactly is the problem? You have the elixir, do you not? Why not drink it?" He had posed many questions during the telling of the events but none so serious.

Aladdin's friends watched him expectantly, wondering how he would respond. He stared directly into the sultan's eyes and shook his head slowly but firmly.

"We do have the elixir, but it wouldn't be right to drink it now that Mozenrath no longer has a body. I can't just kill him," he said with conviction.

But the sultan's frown deepened. "Your motives are noble as always, but you must remember that Mozenrath is an unforgivable criminal. He has threatened all of our lives and the kingdom multiple times, and would stop at nothing to kill you if given the chance. If you do not act, I fear that is exactly what he will do."

Aladdin had feared that the conversation with the sultan might turn into an argument, and he did not feel especially equipped to debate the point so late into the evening. With tiring patience and persistence he stood his ground with as much respect for the older man as he could. At least he had Jasmine on his side. If it came down to it, he was fairly sure she could convince her father to change his mind with just a few kind words and a gentle smile. Only daughters had that effect on their fathers.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I've subdued him and I promise he won't cause trouble. Genie will also stay near me in case anything happens. But I can safely say that Mozenrath is too weak to put up a real fight at the moment. It'll give us the time to figure out how to solve this problem without committing murder."

The sultan stared at Aladdin with a shrewd sharpness that he only displayed in times of emergency. "I must reemphasize that the man in question is a criminal who would have been executed long ago if he had been apprehended and put on trial. But each time we have shown him mercy and let him free, and look what that has cost us. He almost killed you, my boy." The old man's voice was lined with concern as well as stern disapproval.

"Which means we shouldn't sink down to Mozenrath's level, father," Jasmine said gently. The sultan's eyes softened minutely as he glanced at his daughter, and Aladdin knew he would soon relent. He looked back at Aladdin kindly.

"It would not be counted against you, Aladdin. You would be enacting justice on behalf of the kingdom if you drank the elixir," the sultan persisted, but his voice held less conviction than before.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness. I won't do it. I promise that we'll keep things under control, and Mozenrath will not bring any harm upon you or anyone else," Aladdin said, looking around at his friends for agreement. All of them except Iago nodded adamantly. The bird grumbled something about how he should have bought evil sorcerer insurance.

The sultan's gaze turned toward his daughter once again, clearly worried. It seemed Aladdin had said the wrong thing. "Can you truly guarantee that Mozenrath will not bring harm upon us when he is within your mind, and you are weaker than usual? And what about my daughter? I cannot compromise her safety!"

"Father, I'll be fine," Jasmine asserted, stepping forward and taking her father's hand. "Please don't worry so much. Mozenrath can't afford to act up precisely because Aladdin has the elixir."

The sultan looked from his daughter to her fiancé and gave a dubious sigh. "But therein lays the problem, dearest. Mozenrath's perpetual presence inside Aladdin must eventually weaken the boy and what would be the first thing the sorcerer would do? Drink the elixir! You uphold a principled position, Aladdin, but I again affirm that you would not be shown the same mercy you have given. One small slip and your spirit and soul might be destroyed."

Aladdin drew in a quick breath, surprised at the Sultan's perceptiveness. He, too, had thought about the disastrous consequences if he should lose control to the sorcerer, who knew exactly where the elixir was being kept on his person. Aladdin felt a strange prickling near the corners of his thoughts, significant enough to notice but small enough to refrain from panicking. Mozenrath could obviously and easily read all of his thoughts, and this fact concerned him above all other things.

"If I feel weak, Your Highness, I promise to give the elixir to Jasmine or Genie. But I think it's safer to have it than to be without it, just in case."

The Sultan, ever the father but sometimes the politician, kept a neutral expression upon his face that showed only traces of doubt. He sighed and looked at his daughter, whose eyes were focused on Aladdin with such faith that her father had no choice but to concede.

"I do not like this at all, but I suppose we have encountered worse circumstances and survived well enough. Aladdin, I am trusting you to keep your word."

"Thank you, Your Majesty," Aladdin said as Jasmine returned to his side. He gave her a small smile, knowing her understanding had swung the argument in their favor. The Sultan watched the couple closely as they turned to walk away.

"There is one other thing," the sultan said before they could leave. "You must not put on that accursed glove at any time. Genie must keep it locked away in a safe place."

"With something better than guppies as a security system," Iago added with the expected dose of sarcasm.

Genie saluted the sultan with his right hand while surreptitiously pointing behind him with his left, firing a beam of magic at Iago. The bird squawked loudly before unceremoniously falling backward, his beak stuffed with Pepperidge Farm Goldfish crackers.

"Right, of course," Aladdin said, ignoring the muffled protests of the parrot stumbling around behind them. He tugged off the leather gauntlet and tossed it to Genie in one fluid motion. It felt strangely heavy as it left his hand, and his uncovered right arm felt weightless and exposed. He shook off the feeling of vulnerability that he now felt without it, realizing he should have taken it off much earlier. Its side effects were already becoming obvious.

"You really should get some rest," Jasmine said, leading him out of the throne room after her father dismissed them with a nod.

Aladdin let out a long breath of relief as his steps slowed and his posture slouched immediately upon leaving the sultan's line of sight. "You can say that again."

Jasmine stopped walking, alarmed at how weary he suddenly appeared. His skin looked pale and his eyes weary, so that he gazed around unseeing. She realized he was much more worn out than any of them had imagined, having kept up a front during the conversation with her father. "Aladdin, are you all right? What's the matter?"

_Mozenrath, _Aladdin wanted to grit out, _and all the snide comments he's been making since he woke up. _But he didn't want her to worry, so he refrained from telling the whole truth.

"I'm just tired. I'll be okay in the morning."

She looked at him with sympathy and affection, and she slowed her steps to match his own so that she could lead him down the hallway toward their separate chambers. She kissed him on the cheek when they arrived at the door, holding both his hands in her own. Her silky touch heated his clammy skin and his heart reached out to her even as his mind roared with frustration. He smiled down at her as genuinely as he could, brushing aside the sorcerer's voice, and Jasmine failed to notice that the smile did not reach his eyes.

_She looks like she needs some...relief...as well. Why don't you invite her to join us?_

Jasmine didn't catch the twitch in his expression as he responded silently to the sorcerer's insinuating remark.

_Jasmine and I both need relief from you, Mozenrath! She'd never come anywhere near you!_

Aladdin continued to smile warmly as she wrapped her arms around him in a long hug. She smiled at him and gave him a curious look that he responded to with another forced grin. She drew back from his arms and he immediately felt the loss of her warmth when she turned away and entered her own chambers, saying goodnight as she closed the door.

_Well, street rat, I think she just did._

With Jasmine out of sight, Aladdin opened the door to his room with a sharp jerk, hands soon tightening into fists. Despite his weariness he stalked quickly toward the mirror and looked at his reflection, the tenseness in his expression, the dark circles under his eyes, the droop in his hair. For a split-second he saw the image of the sorcerer replace his own, a content smirk plastered on the man's face, before the reflection returned to normal. Aladdin folded his arms and stared at himself, into eyes that were no longer completely his.

"You're not going to win this, Mozenrath. I'm not allowing you to have permanent residency, so you better not get too comfortable."

_I wouldn't use the word 'comfortable' to describe my stay thus far. _The statement was dry, but the bitter malice underneath the sorcerer's cool voice held a promise of payback for the extreme pain Aladdin had inflicted on him earlier.

"You should be grateful, you snake. You're only alive right now because I'm showing you mercy." To emphasize his point, Aladdin drew the flask from his belt and set it on the nightstand beside the bed. He stared at it with his own eyes, vividly imagining himself drinking the elixir, and felt Mozenrath's disquiet wash through him.

_I'm only stuck in your sickeningly heroic mind because your stupid friends failed to preserve my body!_

"Oh, should I feel sorry that your figure's ruined?" Aladdin said with sarcasm, and felt a bit of self-satisfaction at the sorcerer's angry reaction to the pun.

He turned away from the mirror and tried to forcibly shut out his enemy's voice from his inner hearing, wishing for sleep more than anything in the world besides getting rid of the extra occupant in his mind. But he lay awake with his eyes open, staring up at the ceiling in dread. He could not afford to fall asleep before the sorcerer did. Mozenrath knew this, and Aladdin could feel the man's smug attitude alongside his own tired frustration; although Mozenrath also shared some of his weariness, his spirit merely floated within Aladdin and thus felt no physical drain. Aladdin forced himself to sit up slightly so as not to easily succumb to the sleep he desperately craved.

He hated being so vulnerable to an enemy who already knew him so well. But now with Mozenrath lurking in the confines of his mind, he could feel a strange, constant tug on his willpower. How much longer would it be before they were able to get rid of the sorcerer? The problem was a challenging one and Aladdin felt that their only chance rested with the restoration or replication of the statue. Aladdin would just have to keep his guard up until then, taking care not to let slip any further details of his state of mind that might be used against him by his enemy.

He knew that the sultan was right, though; even if he did force Mozenrath back into his own body, the sorcerer would continue to concoct plans for the takeover of Agrabah or at least Aladdin's demise. They were mortal enemies, forever fated to play this feuding game until the hero's luck ran out or the villain was finally defeated. There could be no winning in this situation for the hero either way, because holding the moral high ground meant that any fall would be severe.

There was a light sound akin to the tinkling of small bells, and a shower of glitter lit up the growing darkness in the bedroom. Aladdin brought his feet off the end of the bed, alert, as shimmering dust from the window condensed quickly to form a blond woman clad in a long blue dress. Her skin was also blue. In her hand she held a slender wand that gave off sparkles as she tapped it against Aladdin's forehead.

"Good Aladdin, you have given so much happiness to others. You deserve to have your wish come true. Little wizard go to sleep, and your life you'll get to keep!"

Before he knew what he was doing, Aladdin swatted the wand away with an annoyed growl, his skin tingling with stray magic sparkles. "Enough with this nonsense, you fool!"

Genie's Blue Fairy imitation set her hands on her hips crossly. "Naughty sorcerer! Now you'll never be a real boy!"

Aladdin regained control over himself and immediately regretted the small outburst, even if it wasn't his own. He looked at his friend apologetically. "Sorry, Genie. He's been awake for a while, and I guess his personality's still bleeding into mine."

_Liar. You were just as annoyed as I was, and it would do us both good if your moronic jinni stopped cross-dressing in front of us._

Aladdin had nothing to say to that, because it was actually true. He wasn't in any mood for jokes and magic tricks; he just wanted to sleep. But of course he wouldn't be rude to a friend just because he was tired and annoyed at an enemy. His irritation flared at Mozenrath's insults instead.

Genie reverted to his normal form and ruffled Aladdin's hair. "It's okay, Al. I'll be on babysitting duty for the next however many days 'til we solve this little conundrum. It's in the babysitter's manifesto to watch over ward and protect him from the boogieman." Genie transformed into a preteen girl with pigtails and heavy makeup. "I'm Stacey and I'll be your sitter. We'll be best friends forever so long as you're not a dweeb!" He pushed Aladdin back into a supine position and checked under the bed. "See, no boogieman!" He caught sight of Aladdin's reaction, which bristled with borderline contempt. "Oh, I guess the boogieman is stuck inside of you, huh?"

Aladdin looked away from Genie, trying to check the range of emotions churning within him. The impulse to insult his friend was great but unnecessary and harsh. This time Aladdin wasn't sure how much of the urge to snap at his friend was rooted in Mozenrath's short temper, and it bothered him greatly. Genie backed away and took a seat near Aladdin's bed.

"I can't fall asleep before he does, Genie," he said with an exasperated sigh, lying down once again.

"Now, now, boys," Genie chided, turning into an old gray-haired lady in a flowery dress sitting in a rocking chair. "It's past your bedtime and there's no time for silly games like 'who can stay up the latest.'"

"I'm serious," Aladdin said, frustrated. "He's just waiting to take over again and then shove me out."

Genie grew serious at last, once again returning to his original form. "Don't worry. I'm here to watch you and make sure nothing funny happens in the night. Just rest easy, Al. I can handle a disembodied--er, temporarily embodied sorcerer's spirit. And besides, he can't shove you out if I hold onto this."

He took the small flask from the nightstand and tucked it into his belt, where it promptly disappeared into the mysterious realm outside of space and time where jinnis kept their belongings. He gave Aladdin a supportive half-smile that the street rat could not return. The worry was still there.

Mozenrath had grown silent in Aladdin's head, but this caused more suspicion than assurance. He knew that Mozenrath was cunning and would stop at nothing to gain control over his body, murdering him in the process. Regardless of the fact Genie was here, Aladdin would still try his hardest to stay awake and wait for the sorcerer to sleep first. Genie had changed into an old woman again and was currently knitting something out of yarn. He gave Aladdin a toothless grin and spoke in a croaking voice.

"I'm knitting you a set of mittens, dearie. They'll fit you much better than that old rotting leather thing. After that, Granny'll knit you some arm socks for your inner emo kid, I hear they're all the rage these days."

Aladdin groaned and kept his eyes open, training them on the ceiling where he tried to count the marble tiles. At least the barrage of memories and emotions had ceased. His mind was separate from Mozenrath's now—at least as separate as they could be when they shared the same several feet of space. The sorcerer seemed to have retreated out of his reach, or perhaps he actually was asleep; Aladdin could not sense his thoughts at all and did not attempt to. From what he had felt and seen so far of Mozenrath's spirit, there was darkness inside him now that would be hard to cleanse even after he dispelled the sorcerer from his body.

Eventually his suspicion faded along with the strength to keep awake, and he slowly dozed off to the soft click of knitting needles beside him.

* * *

Several hours later, the rocking chair had ceased its constant back and forth movement, its elderly occupant asleep and snoring loudly. A half-knit mitten clutched in his hand, Genie was dreaming that the chihuahuas he had set as guards in place of the guppies were using Mozenrath's gauntlet as an oven mitt to make tacos.

"Yo quiero..." he mumbled slowly, a trickle of drool sliding down his chin. He yipped unexpectedly into the night as he continued to dream.

A sleek gray form slithered through the fluttering curtains by the moonlit balcony. No alarms had been set in the chamber and the creature snaked through the area, sniffing through the darkness toward its master. Xerxes sensed Genie's magic first, but after inhaling the scent it moved closer to the wall and toward the bed. Mozenrath's essence was faint and subdued, but it was there, and it suddenly grew stronger as the street rat's eyes opened. Aladdin's head silently turned to the side, and his lips curled into an odd half-smile when he saw the eel.

"It's about time, Xerxes."

He sat up in bed very slowly, making sure not to wake the jinni. The eel glided quietly toward him and coiled around his right arm with a grateful smile, for once not making any noise. 'Aladdin' frowned, feeling the absence of the gauntlet acutely. It was strange to feel warmth and the pulse of blood in the limb, since he had lived without them for so long. His hand tightened into a fist as he flexed the fingers, feeling the skin stretched tight over joints that felt naked. He vowed never to have to lose the gauntlet again. It was fortunate for the street rat that the glove recognized Mozenrath's spirit as its master and thus had not taken more flesh in another grisly exchange. But it mattered little to the sorcerer whether the limb was left intact or not; he was used to the phantom feeling of an arm overshadowed by the dynamic magical power of the gauntlet. Now to find it and quench his thirst for its power...

He ignored the street rat's feeble protests inside his mind with a cruel smile. Aladdin was extremely tired and made even weaker by the effects of the gauntlet's absence because he had never experienced it before. Mozenrath was well-seasoned in dealing with the torment of separation from his power, mostly thanks to Aladdin and his meddlesome jinni. At least the agony of power-starvation was paying off now. Ruthlessly pushing aside the dizzying hunger, he climbed out of the open window with Xerxes flying near him, guiding him on his way down. The street rat's body was strong and flexible, much more durable than his old form. Still, Mozenrath wasn't used to the physical exertion required to properly scale the side of a building and it took him several seconds too long to manage his new muscles. He promptly slipped and fell flat on his back on the grass below. His breath left him in a harsh gasp, and he waited in silence, hoping no one had heard him fall. Xerxes darted around, checking for guards in the area. The eel shook its head as a signal that all was clear.

He flexed his limbs as he rose from the ground, pleased with the resilience of his muscles and bones, undamaged from the impact. An irritated look crossed his face as Aladdin shouted yet another empty threat at him in his mind.

_Shut up, street rat. You should have known your jinni was poor insurance against me. And I know you thirst for the gauntlet as well. I'm just going to get it for us._

With that, he effectively shut Aladdin's voice out of his consciousness with the ease of a man familiar with both the administering and receiving of mental torture.

"Now, where is the gauntlet?" he asked his familiar. He stayed on alert for any night patrols in the vicinity that Xerxes might have overlooked. The eel flew off, winding between trees and toward another tower. Mozenrath followed, keeping to the shadows and ducking down low whenever he heard footsteps nearby. An overweight, obviously exhausted guard yawned loudly as he walked by, unaware of the human form hiding in the bush behind him. Mozenrath concealed himself easily amongst the shadows though the action was unnecessary; he was in control of Aladdin's body and not a single guard would question a nighttime venture of the city's most celebrated hero, so long as he stayed away from the princess' chambers.

Regardless, Mozenrath waited in impatient silence until the man was out of sight before continuing on, his eyes following the lithe form of the eel, now weaving through the grass like a snake. They neared an old stone tower, and Xerxes sniffed around close to the ground, searching frantically under the pressure of its master's urgent mood. It finally flew in a circle over a certain patch of earth that resembled every other in the dim moonlight. Curling his mouth in distaste, Mozenrath parted the grass and weeds with his hands to reveal a tunnel too small for him to enter.

He gave Xerxes a skeptical look, but the eel was certain that this was the place. It nodded vigorously. "Gauntlet here. Only way."

Mozenrath frowned. The risk was significant, but Xerxes knew how to move with silent stealth, having spied for its master many times. He grabbed the eel around the throat and held it above the tunnel. "Go down there and get it, then. If you get caught, I'll have your skin for a belt."

Xerxes nodded with a crooked smile as the sorcerer released it, happy to be serving its master once again, abuse and all. It disappeared into the tunnel, leaving Mozenrath to wait with forced patience in the shadows.

* * *

Long beams of light strafed the expansive grassy area around the palace. Several jinnis clad in police uniforms were combing the grass with flashlights, batons held at the ready. Two of them walked by each other and swapped flashlights for no reason.

"Joe, I have footprints here. Footprints leading away from the tower."

One jinni turned around abruptly, swiveling his flashlight to illuminate the suspicious patch of ground. "Vick, the suspect is barefoot, remember? That's your boot print, you dolt."

The first jinni looked sheepish, muttering something unintelligible before moving on. It took several minutes for the jinnis to stop as they collectively realized that treading all over the grass would erase Aladdin's tracks. It took another few seconds for them to realize it was already too late.

"What is going on here?" Rasoul demanded as he walked over briskly, the dark circles under his eyes even more pronounced than usual. The guard was obviously weary and in no mood for Genie's antics, but then again he never was.

The police officers poofed into thin air, leaving behind one guilty-faced jinni who traced the ground with his foot, flashlight clasped behind his back. "Just huntin' for worms, sir. They make mighty delicious night snacks."

Rasoul narrowed his eyes in contempt and disgust. "Take your juvenile games elsewhere, not in the way of my night patrols!"

"Yes, sir." Genie vanished quickly, teleporting himself out of the path of the irritated guard. His expression of embarrassment changed to outright worry. He began to bite his nails as he talked to himself. "Oh, I've really done it now. How could I have dozed off? Where's Al? Is evil wizard boy back in control? Are the chihuahuas really making tacos with the gauntlet?"

He tried to calm himself and think rationally. "Can't tell anyone Genie messed up again...can't let the sultan know or Al's gonna be in trouble! Okay, okay, I have things under control." He breathed in deeply and heaved his chest up high, looking important. "I am semi-phenomenal, nearly cosmic and finding a man wandering around in the middle of the night with no shirt on should be no problem." But his expression quickly grew dubious, and his large chest became a large gut as he slouched. "Except when that mortal is possessed by Mozenrath!"

He heard the quick patter of feet across the lawn as Jasmine ran toward him, Abu scampering slightly ahead of her. The worried looks on their faces said they already knew of his carelessness. Abu was chattering almost too fast for him to decipher, something about the chihuahuas almost eating him while he was trying to keep watch over the security system which Genie had set up to keep watch over the gauntlet.

"Genie," Jasmine hissed, half-winded from running. Her hair was in slight disarray as she had just woken up, still clad in her pink nightclothes. "Abu came to get me. The gauntlet's gone! Where's Aladdin?"

"Ummmm..."

"Genie!" she exclaimed in exasperation. Before she could scold him further, something caught her attention. The sleek form of Mozenrath's familiar darted toward the side of the main building, keeping close to the wall but flying upward toward the balcony of her father's chambers. "Oh no!"

Without wasting another second, Genie swept the three of them off the lawn and into a dark palace hallway, right outside the sultan's room. The telltale blue and black flame of Mozenrath's power was just receding from Aladdin's right hand as he had incapacitated the two guards posted in the hall. He turned in slight surprise before he could open the door, glaring at the trio that had managed to catch up to him on time.

"Well, well, well. Looks like the senile old jinni finally woke up from his nap. Did you have a good rest?" Mozenrath taunted.

"What have you done with Aladdin?" Jasmine demanded. She fought the urge to cringe from the cold, inhuman smirk on her fiance's face. It looked so wrong, so evil, and she willed herself to remember how Aladdin's eyes looked without the sharp coldness etched across them.

"Oh don't worry, he's still up here." Mozenrath tapped his temple, a slow sneer creeping across his mouth. "For now."

Jasmine bit her lip, desperately searching for a solution, for some way to save Aladdin without hurting him. Her eyes were drawn to the gauntlet, still covered in a dull glow, an unnatural source of light in the dimly lit hall. Mozenrath would not part with it easily. He held his right hand slightly in front of him as a defense and twisted his wrist slowly so that energy swirled around his fingertips, warning them to keep their distance. Genie gave her a helpless look. He couldn't face off against Mozenrath with his own powers here, so close to where her father slept, still unaware of the dangerous standoff playing out right beside his door.

"You're no match for me," the sorcerer said scornfully. "I have my gauntlet and now I have a strong, healthy body. And best of all, I have your precious street rat begging me for mercy with the little strength he has left."

Jasmine gasped and balled her fist in anger. "Stop hurting him, Mozenrath!"

"'Stop hurting him, Mozenrath,'" the sorcerer mimicked her anxious voice. "I don't think so. He deserves to suffer the torture of my dungeons in addition to Agrabah's for what he did to me."

Jasmine didn't notice that Genie and Abu stayed strangely quiet and withdrawn as she snapped at their enemy. Her anger at Mozenrath's taunt almost made her forget where she was. "What he did to you? Aladdin's only shown you mercy that you don't deserve. That's the only reason you're still alive!"

"And unable to reproduce," Genie muttered behind her. She glanced at him in passing confusion. "Never mind," he said quickly and his eyes twitched toward the door. He felt compelled to seal the door with his magic but he didn't want to leave Jasmine's side in the face of their enemy.

Mozenrath's cool smirk, so strange on Aladdin's kind face, turned into a twisted sneer at the jinni's remark. "I'll have all of you groveling at my feet, unless you want your dear Aladdin to suffer."

"No! Don't..." Jasmine's voice sounded weak as she couldn't think of what to do. She had won battles without Aladdin's help before, but now when she had to fight him, or rather the man who had taken control of his body, she was paralyzed. She looked at her fiancé with fear and her hand stretched out to his body that was no longer his own. "Aladdin..."

A second after the broken whisper of his name, the glow from the gauntlet abruptly flickered out. Mozenrath clutched his head in consternation as Aladdin's spirit apparently began to fight harder than before.

"Leave them alone! You won't win, Mozenrath!" Aladdin shouted in his normal voice again, gritting his teeth as he leaned against the wall, trying to overpower the sorcerer.

Jasmine and Genie both stepped forward, the former with the instinctive urge to comfort him, and the latter hoping to take advantage of Mozenrath's sudden weakness. Genie raised one hand to fire a blast of magic just as Jasmine reached Aladdin's side and took hold of his arm.

"No, Jas-" Aladdin said before he was cut off by the sorcerer's smug voice. "Gotcha."

In one rapid motion he grabbed Jasmine around the waist and held her throat in his gauntleted hand. Genie immediately redirected the trajectory of his magic blast so it hit the ceiling and sent sparkles raining down around their heads.

"Let go of me!" Jasmine spat, struggling briefly before the leather-covered hand tightened around her throat. She choked on her next words and Mozenrath cut her off.

"Now princess, you don't want your street rat to suffer, do you?" he said, breathing lightly on her ear. He smiled cruelly as she went completely rigid in his arms. The rapid pulse of her heart was intoxicating; for a moment he was content to savor her fear and the possibilities of how he could control her. He shifted his grip on her throat and his other hand, which encircled her bare waist, bruised the tender skin above her hip. He looked up at the jinni and the monkey. "The same goes for you fools, in case you didn't figure that out already."

Genie didn't even offer a pointless comeback this time, too concerned for his friends to move. He watched the sorcerer smile viciously over the princess' ear, and yet it was his friend that looked at him, Aladdin's face, now full of malice and cruelty. Abu retreated slowly with a sad look on his face, tail drooping on the floor as he whimpered.

"And as for you, street rat," Mozenrath said, addressing Aladdin aloud for the benefit of his enemies. "I think you know better than to try anything, with your beloved princess in this...unique position." His smirk widened as he slowly traced her jawline with one gloved finger, feeling her shudder with a mix of revulsion and something else more interesting. "We should have invited her to join us earlier, don't you agree?"

Jasmine's heart pounded heavily in her chest as she felt the familiar contact of Aladdin's skin with her own. But where there was normally warmth and gentleness, there was now burning yet cold severity. She closed her eyes and counted another two seconds before enacting a plan she hoped desperately would work.

* * *

_A/N:_

_Babysitter Genie: Like, tell us what you think, please!_


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N (Cantare): Sorry for the long wait! Katie and I have both been busy with other stories and life (sadly, for me, usually in that order). Hope you like this chapter, though, and don't forget to tell us what you think!_

_On another note, if you can't have enough of Moze vs. Al, I highly recommend **Mengde**'s new fic **Reflections**!_

* * *

Mozenrath's tight hold, coupled with Aladdin's callused hands, chilled the side of Jasmine's waist as she fought to turn around. She pressed up against his chest and the gauntleted hand slipped off her throat in surprise, giving her the opportunity to face her captor without difficulty. She looked into Mozenrath's black gaze in Aladdin's brown eyes, and without another word she locked her lips with his, not slowly or gently, but with a firmness and ferocity that those lips had never before discovered.

Jasmine knew she'd only have one chance for this plan to work, so she didn't waste any time ensuring that it was accomplished properly. She opened his lips gently with her own and lightly touched her tongue to the inside of his mouth. Her hand came up to hold Aladdin's cheek in a natural gesture that also guaranteed she could hold him in place. She bit down on the outside of his lip, evoking more of an explicit reaction than she could ever have imagined, and she smiled into the kiss, finishing it with a small tug on his lower lip.

It was merely seconds, but for the flabbergasted group it seemed an eternity, so that when Jasmine finally pulled away, she was the only one to register the scene with coherence. She had a triumphant look on her face when she saw the stunned expression on Aladdin's features, but the feeling of victory faded to concern when she realized he was not responding in time. Hastily, she yelled out to him.

"Aladdin, now!"

The hero's mind was in just as much of a haze as Mozenrath's, but he recognized her voice and his name and realized what opportunity had just been given to him. As both men lost their senses in the kiss, neither had control of the body. A split second before Mozenrath could fully register what had happened, the street rat found him amidst the opaque fog of their shared minds and brought an elbow to his enemy's temple, knocking him to the ground and nearly out cold. Aladdin quickly turned to face the light that shone upwards and found himself staring into Jasmine's eyes before he could even look back at Mozenrath's dazed form.

His arm still encircling Jasmine's waist, he smiled at her, so wide a smile that his friends knew instantly which man had regained control. But Aladdin pushed Jasmine away suddenly and stumbled into the wall, tearing at his forehead as he fought off the angry sorcerer.

"Leave me alone, Mozenrath! I'm in control now!" He shook his head around, trying to clear the pain and dizziness he was experiencing. Mozenrath's voice called out to him from his own lips.

"No, Aladdin! I'm in control! You WILL submit to my power!"

Aladdin slumped against the side, unaware that the angry shouts bursting from him, in his own voice and in the voice of his enemy, echoed sharply against the marble hallway. His friends hurried forward to help, but he shook them off as he jumped to the side. The battle going on within him tore at his insides and caused him to lose control of his limbs, which seemed unable to ascertain which mind they should obey.

Aladdin shuddered as he mentally pushed Mozenrath back and he looked around but could not see clearly enough to notice his friends. He held out his hand in anguish. "Genie! Hand me the flask!"

The jinni rushed forward, producing the container from thin air and placing it on Aladdin's open palm. As soon as the street rat grasped it with his left hand, his right hand seized his wrist and attempted to toss the flask to the other side of the room. He struggled with himself, arms pummeling each other in a bizarre battle of twisted extremities. Jasmine gasped and held a hand to her mouth, looking behind her at Genie who mirrored her expression. Abu shrieked in a garble of concern. They stood still, watching Aladdin fight with himself and seemingly lose.

Aladdin yelled through the struggle and with a loud intake of breath and a swift turn of his arms, he seemed to regain control of his mind and body. He held onto the flask with white knuckles.

"I will drink it, Mozenrath, if you don't back off right now!" He unscrewed the cap to emphasize his point.

From the corner of his mind, Aladdin could feel his enemy's presence yield and back down. The sorcerer traced the edges of Aladdin's thoughts and seemed surprised not only at the turn of events, but also at the sincerity in the threat. It seemed he had pushed Aladdin too far.

Breathing heavily, his arm still outstretched with the open bottle clenched tightly, Aladdin waited for Mozenrath to back down. He stared at the flask for several seconds, knowing that Mozenrath could see through his eyes and understand the pointed gaze. Finally, once he recovered his senses and breath, Aladdin slowly lowered his arm and tucked the flask into his belt, providing security for the time being.

He had never felt so full of anger before, and he wondered yet again if Mozenrath's spirit was mingling with his own. He was full of rage, a fever of passionate fury that did not reflect the struggle he had just faced. Aladdin willed himself to calm, counting down his breaths and slowing his heartbeat so that he turned around to face his friends with as much composure as he could muster.

"It's all right," he said with a small smile, noticing their horrified looks. "It's me, guys." He stumbled a bit forward as his limbs hastened to obey his belated commands.

Jasmine rushed to his side and jumped into his arms, squeezing him tightly. "Thank goodness you're all right," she whispered in his ear. He laughed lightly into her hair and rubbed her back in a show of understanding. But Mozenrath's quiet comments reached his mind through the haze.

_Oh yes, hold her close to us both… she seemed to enjoy that kiss as much as I did…_

Aladdin's nostrils flared and he forcibly pushed Jasmine away, not wanting her close to him as he recalled the memory of her ploy to free him. Other memories, triggered by the kiss, burst from his mind and followed like an endless slideshow, and Aladdin strove to clear his thoughts before his enemy could see them. But Mozenrath's spirit lurked everywhere, and the sorcerer gave a jeering laugh that only Aladdin could hear.

_Oh please don't tell me that that's the farthest you've gone…! Pathetic, really…_

Aladdin sighed heavily, and with tremendous mental strength he pushed Mozenrath away, forcing him to remain silent for the time being. He realized that Jasmine had taken hold of his hand, where he felt the heavy leather of the gauntlet stretched over his fingers. He looked up at Genie and frowned, holding up his hand and trying to keep the disappointment from lacing his words.

"We need to hide this in a better place! Mozenrath was able to break in and steal it from the dungeons within five minutes, without even using magic!"

Genie started to sputter out endless excuses and anecdotes, involving some dogs and a hairy ape that the group assumed to be Rasoul, before he noticed a slithering form lurking in the shadows. His eyes narrowed. "He might have stolen it without any magic, but not without help." He reached forward and yanked the gray familiar from the corner of the room. It squirmed in his grasp, trying to snap at his hand.

"Let go! Let go! Let master free!"

Genie looked at the creature and shook his head. "No such luck, shark bait. We're going to keep you both locked up, no more stealing gauntlets." He shook the eel suspiciously. "You didn't eat the tacos, did you?"

"Who stole the gauntlet? What are tacos?" Pushing the door to his bedchamber slightly ajar, the sultan stumbled through into the lighted hallway, rubbing his eyes and the rest of his sleep away. He looked around the group but it was several seconds before he registered the scene and when he did, his eyes narrowed on the magical glove, still encasing Aladdin's arm. No one noticed the sultan slowly clenching his fists.

Aladdin hastily pulled his right arm behind his back, hiding it from view. "Oh, uh, I mean…" He tried to think of a lie quickly, his years as a street rat providing him with several convincing stories, but he hesitated to lie to Jasmine's father. Luckily, she noticed his discomfort and stood in front of him, directly facing the sultan.

"Don't worry, Father. We have everything under control. The gauntlet is still safe." It wasn't a lie, as Aladdin's current possession of the glove was really as safe as any. The princess tried to shuffle her father back into his bedchamber. "Sorry to wake you, Father."

But the sultan stood firmly in front of the door, refusing to go through. "What is Aladdin doing wearing the gauntlet? I ordered it to be locked away!" He glared at Genie, who had the decency to look chastised, and then back at Aladdin. "You must not wear that cursed glove! What if Mozenrath should take control over your body again? You would put the entire kingdom, and my daughter, in danger!"

Aladdin started to explain, but found that his mouth had gone dry. He had never seen the sultan so assertive or so severe, and he wondered what to do. Channeling the remainder of his strength to block out Mozenrath's cruel comments, the hero stared at the old man as he gave his answer.

"I am sorry, Sultan. It was a mistake. But I really can't get rid of Mozenrath, not yet, and I will need Genie and Jasmine to help me figure this out. I promise this won't happen again."

The pair stared at each other, one in anger and one in appeal. Slowly, the sultan's demeanor softened and he looked at the floor as he made up his mind. Aladdin snuck a quick glance at Jasmine who looked just as concerned as he did. Genie bit his lip nervously.

"It's all right, my boy, I know that you are trying. But I must stress the seriousness of your actions. If Mozenrath manages to take control of you again, you will be dispelled from the kingdom until the matter is solved. Understood?"

Aladdin felt his jaw slacken, suddenly aware just how perceptive the sultan really was. Mozenrath had managed, in a single night, to take control of his body, steal the gauntlet from under Genie's security, and infiltrate the palace. If not for Jasmine, Mozenrath might have broken into the sultan's chambers and subjected the ruler to whatever sadistic plans he had in mind. They had stopped him just in time, but what if they hadn't been so lucky?

But to banish Aladdin from Agrabah completely, just for one slip up? It didn't seem right to punish the hero when he, more than anyone else, wanted Mozenrath out of his body and as far away as possible. Aladdin could not be completely faulted for falling asleep and letting his guard down, just as Genie could not be completely faulted for his lack of serious security. They never could understand the depths of Mozenrath's determination to defeat them, and they had once again underestimated his power.

Before they had joined together, Aladdin had no way of predicting Mozenrath's plans. Yet now, with their spirits mingling and their thoughts overlapping, Aladdin still could not read Mozenrath. How was he supposed to know what Mozenrath was thinking? Aladdin had no insight into the criminal mind of his enemy, but it seemed as though Mozenrath had a fairly good grasp on Aladdin. What was it the sorcerer always mocked? That Aladdin was predictable because he was good? If that was the case, then it could easily be said that the opposite was true of Mozenrath: he was impossible to predict because he was evil.

Aladdin could feel him, even now, prowling through their shared space, looking for weaknesses and planning his next conquest. But could Aladdin do the same and still stay in control? He realized, with a crushing sense of dread, that he would need to trespass into his enemy's mind and unearth his intentions if there was any chance of getting out of this mess. He quickly pushed the thought aside though, and tried to think differently. It might work to throw the sorcerer off track.

_Nice try…but I know what you're up to and it's not going to work, street rat…_

Aladdin clenched his fists and looked up, as though he could see into his brain. But a tight squeeze of his arm brought him back, and he found the sultan staring at him questioningly. Realizing he had not answered, he fumbled in his words.

"Yeah, of course. Yes. I understand."

The answer seemed to satisfy the ruler and he nodded solemnly, his weariness immediately catching up to him. With a smile for his daughter and a frown for Aladdin and Genie, he hastened back to his room and the prospect of sleep. As soon as the door closed, Aladdin let out a long sigh and slumped against the wall, momentarily defeated.

Jasmine, still grasping his arm, cupped his chin gently. "Aladdin, are you all right? Is it Mozenrath?"

Aladdin's eyes flashed black. "Oh, very clever, did you figure that out all by yourself?"

Jasmine huffed but tightened her grip. "We're trying to help you, Aladdin. There's no need to be cruel."

Aladdin looked up at her surprised and a little bit guilty. He didn't think Mozenrath had much to do with that comment. "I'm sorry, Jasmine, but I don't know what to do! And now if I screw up your father is going to banish me from Agrabah!"

Jasmine placed her hands on her hips defiantly. "You're not going anywhere, we're going find a way to fix this. Right now." She motioned to her friend. "Genie, can you take us back to Aladdin's chambers? We need to talk this all out."

Still holding the eel in his hand, the jinni waved his fist around so that the group instantly sat amongst the various pillows piled around Aladdin's sleeping quarters. Jasmine took a seat near the wall while Genie crafted a thick wooden cage that kept Xerxes from escaping, and Abu sat on top of it, blowing raspberries at the familiar. As the jinni finished his handiwork, he surveyed the room in surprise.

"Anyone seen the parrot or the rug?" He snapped his fingers and instantly a bewildered Carpet and disgruntled Iago materialized, both resting upon a single pillow and struggling to free themselves from the other.

"Get me out of here, Carpet! How hard is it to untangle yourself, you're a rug, just lay flat!" The group heard a sharp slap from a tassel and a loud yelp of pain from Iago, but he quickly freed himself and looked around the room. Abu laughed and pointed at the bird, who was dressed in a nightcap and clutching a blanket.

"What the heck is wrong with you people? Ever heard of sleeping?" He ruffled his feathers indignantly, and walked over to Aladdin, the person closest to him. He warily eyed the hero. "Going for a new look, Al? Want to try your hand at falconry? I thought we decided that NO ONE'S hands were safe with that thing on!"

A strong urge to kick the parrot welled up inside of Aladdin and he had to check his leg as it twitched in Iago's direction. Magic stirred from between his fingertips and Aladdin, shocked that he still wore the glove, began wrestling it from his hand. While he was in control of his body, the feat was not difficult, and Aladdin looked up triumphantly before his other hand snatched the gauntlet and shook it. Mozenrath's energy burst through his tired frame and roused his mind, and he began pacing back and forth across the floor with an urgency and a voice that were not his own.

"Fool! I need my gauntlet and its power, without which we would both be nothing!"

"No, Mozenrath, the gauntlet has to be locked up and out of your hands. Look at what you tried to do tonight!" Aladdin grabbed the glove with his other hand and with sharp reflexes tossed it to Genie, who quickly stowed it out of sight before Mozenrath could realize what had happened. The action did not stop his tirade.

"Is it my fault that you're so weak, street rat? Tonight proved once again how much of a fool you are, to think that a few semi-phenomenal traps would keep me at bay."

His friends watched in frustration, but the comment only made resentment boil inside Aladdin. "All we've learned from this little episode, Mozenrath, is that you can't be trusted," he spat, folding his arms across his chest. But the sorcerer unfolded those same arms a moment later.

"Who needs trust when they have power? You'd be nothing if it weren't for the power of your idiotic jinni!"

"And you would be nothing now, Mozenrath, without my body! All I have to do is take a few sips," he removed the flask from his belt and held it up, stirring its contents, "and you would be gone forever."

He could feel Mozenrath back off slightly, the same threat looming over both minds. "You wouldn't dare."

Aladdin snorted and his pulse raced as he untwisted the cap again. "We'll just see about that…" He felt so confident, so justified in his actions, and so incensed that his mind seemed to take complete control of his body without even realizing it. His arm moved toward his body, but as it inched closer to his mouth his expression grew doubtful. Suddenly, the flask was taken from his loose grip and Aladdin looked around in confusion.

Jasmine held the flask with one hand, and after replacing the cap she shook it angrily at Aladdin. "Will you two just stop it? Mozenrath, you are trapped inside with Aladdin until we can sort out how to fix this. Any attempts to take over his body again and I will make sure that the new body we find you resembles your pet." She jerked her head, motioning behind her to where the eel now sat locked inside a cage, whimpering. "And Aladdin, you need to stop letting Mozenrath get to you, all this arguing isn't going to solve anything." Her eyes pleaded with him and Aladdin felt his anger subside. But Mozenrath's thoughts quickly flashed in his mind.

_Oh, feisty…_

Aladdin almost growled, immediately infuriated and seething again, but Jasmine looked at him with a raised eyebrow and pinched lips so that he hastened to control his blood pressure. He looked away, exasperated. His friends did not understand how frustrating it was to have his most hated enemy mocking him inside his own brain. Besides, it was tiring to go through so many emotions in just one sitting.

"You're right, Jasmine. I'm sorry. But what are we going to do? Neither one of us wants to stay like this forever."

His face twisted as he spoke next. "First intelligent thing you've said all night, street rat." But the next comment did not reach the rest of the group.

_And what are you? Whipped? She says water and you build an oasis? I thought your leash was longer than that…_

Aladdin made to respond, but a furtive look from Jasmine told him it was better not to. He sighed, aggravated, as Mozenrath laughed openly in his head. Genie and Abu looked up at him sympathetically, but their pity only made him more resentful of the entire situation. Sitting down on the bed carefully, Aladdin ran his fingers through his hair and collected his thoughts.

"Doesn't anyone know of a spell or an object that could restore the statue? Or duplicate it?"

Genie stuck his tongue out, deep in thought. Aladdin's eyes rolled at the sight but he had not meant to do it. He was getting more and more annoyed with Mozenrath's bad manners.

"Well, Al, we'd need something that could reproduce something really magical. And in the exact same form. It would be hard to get all the details right, since any evidence of Mozenrath's body is completely gone." He transformed and multiplied into a large group of assorted women, some teenagers, some far older, all tear stricken. "And what a shame that is too! My inner fangirl is weeping!"

Aladdin stared at Genie and decided to ignore the last comment. "What else could we do? There must be some spell that could put us back to normal."

Mozenrath's voice mocked Aladdin's statement. "Please refrain from assuming your limited magical knowledge is equipped to deal with this situation."

Aladdin bit his lip, and then suddenly stopped with a quick glance at Jasmine. "Well then, Mr. Sorcerer, you figure this out. What sort of thing could recreate the statue? Or at least get you out of my body and into something else?"

Mozenrath let out a frustrated growl. "Well, I had thought of something that would work, until your blasted jinni eliminated that solution!"

"Don't take this out on Genie; you're the one who had alternative motives! If it wasn't for you, we would already be out of this mess!"

"Well if it wasn't for your friends, my plan would have worked in the first place!"

"Your plans never work, Mozenrath, when will you learn?"

"I would have taken over Agrabah right now if it wasn't for the power of your jinni and your lucky breaks!"

"Cowardly snake!"

"Insolent street rat!"

"Enough!"

Aladdin looked up, surprised at Jasmine's outburst. He stood up straight, cocking one eyebrow. She looked just as frustrated as he did but without the strain.

"I'm sorry, Aladdin, but this still isn't helping. We need to figure out a way to at least control your body and Mozenrath's spirit until we can figure out a solution." Aladdin stared at the flask still in her hand, under whose direction he couldn't tell, but Jasmine saw the direction of his gaze. She walked around to Genie and placed the flask in his hand. With a nod, he tucked it backed into his belt and out of sight. She turned back to look at Aladdin. "And drinking the elixir is not an option," she reminded him.

Mozenrath's thoughts bubbled inside Aladdin's mind, mingling with his own. _Ah, look, she doesn't want me dead. Maybe she wants me in other ways instead…_

Aladdin felt his nostrils flare and he fought to control his temper and expression. _Keep your thoughts off Jasmine, Mozenrath! She doesn't want you!_

_Like I said before, that kiss seemed to show otherwise…_

Aladdin closed his eyes sharply, mentally pushing Mozenrath back again to stop his incessant comments. The effort created a jagged pain where the sorcerer's thoughts seemed to originate, and Aladdin held a hand to his temple to equalize the pressure in his head. When he looked up again, he saw Jasmine, Genie and Abu staring up at him concerned. From the corner, Xerxes cackled.

"Master hurt Aladdin!"

Aladdin looked at the creature with exasperation and wondered how master and pet could be so like minded. Iago flapped over to the cage that housed the eel and sat down on top of it, next to Abu. "Think this thing would hold if we threw it over the balcony?" He asked the monkey in a staged whisper. Abu grinned deviously and looked down at the wooden cage. He shook his head and looked up at Aladdin expectantly. The hero purposefully shook his head in their direction, a half smile betraying his decision, but he straightened his thoughts to the task at hand.

"All right, we need to figure this out. If you stop complaining, Mozenrath, I will let you join in the conversation."

"Oh, how thoughtful of you, Aladdin. I would be honored to join the dimwitted discussion."

Aladdin gritted his teeth but did not say anything. He turned to his friends and looked around, holding out his hand. "Well? Any suggestions?"

* * *

"Come on, Al, that was low. Do we really need to bring Mozenrath's mother into this?" Iago, normally one for insults and degradation, rubbed his eyes in frustration and fatigue. "It's been two hours. I say we call it a night." He looked over at Genie, whose head was drooping heavily onto his chest. Annoyance dawned on the bird's features. "What do you think," Iago whispered, and flew up to Genie's head to shout in his ear, "GENIE?!"

The jinni snapped awake, his fingers dispelling random magic into all corners of the room. He looked wide eyed, trying to focus on the source of the noise and when he turned around the face Iago he accidentally shot him with a blast of magic. Iago toppled over his shoulder, but emerged within seconds and fixed Genie with a nasty look, unable to talk due to the transformation of his beak.

"Oho. If looks could kill." Genie pondered him for a moment. "When did you get lips?"

Iago rolled his eyes and pointed to his face, motioning for the jinni to set him right. Genie waved his hand and Iago appeared normal again, his anger now his trademark.

"In case you need a recap: Aladdin is currently suffering from schizophrenia, his greatest enemy is planning his demise, there's an ugly eel thing slithering around next to you, and you keep falling asleep on the job!" He jabbed Genie in the shoulder and pointed to Aladdin, who looked beyond tired.

Genie stood up and walked over to his friend, patting him on the shoulder. "Sorry, Al, I guess it's just really late. And your arguments with Mozenrath can only be so interesting."

Aladdin looked up from his position, about to argue, when he felt Mozenrath hastily turn his line of vision around the room. He spotted Jasmine, curled up on a cushion with her back against the wall, silently sleeping even during the heated arguments. Her hair had fallen in front of her face and she looked so peaceful that Aladdin's heart fluttered a little. But he instantly regretted this and quickly put his guard up against Mozenrath's taunts, turning his head from Jasmine when he realized that he was staring and, by extension, so was the sorcerer.

Aladdin stood up slowly, stretching the taut muscles in his back as he nodded. "It's okay, Genie. We'll have to pick this up in the morning." He looked around and noticed Abu had taken refuge on a nearby pillow, and he picked up a small blanket to cover the little monkey.

_Maybe instead of attending to the flea bitten vermin you should focus on the princess…_

Aladdin was already on his way over to her, but he slowed his pace, disturbed. _Why are you so interested in her, Mozenrath? I will take care of her! She's engaged to me!_

_Yes, and when she realizes the mistake she is making in marrying an inept and inexperienced commoner, she won't be._

Aladdin was caught off guard and the thought instantly spread an unknown fear through him. But his conscience let it go. _She loves me, Mozenrath. Besides, look at your kingdom. You don't even rule over anyone with a heartbeat, let alone a brain!_

_All the more reason for me to conquer Agrabah._

Aladdin wanted to respond, but he had finally reached Jasmine and so he shrugged off the comment, feeling Mozenrath disappear again to a corner of his mind. He knelt down to her level, watching her wrap her arms around herself in the chilly night. At his warm touch, she shivered and opened her eyes blearily.

"Is everything all right?"

Aladdin grinned at her scratchy voice and answered her in a close whisper that heated her cheek. "Everything's fine. I'm going to take you back to your room though."

Her eyelids had already begun to droop and she nodded softly into the pillow. "Everything's fine…"

Aladdin slowly cupped her body, taking care to support her back and was thankful that her head unconsciously leaned against his shoulder. With a silent nod to Genie, he carried her out of the room and down the hallway to her chambers.

He entered her room and easily found her bed despite the lack of light in the chamber. Laying her down gently, he propped her head against the raised pillow and found a blanket near her feet to cover her with. He would have liked to sit with her a while, making sure she was completely asleep, but he felt Mozenrath's presence prickling his senses and he forced himself to turn his attention away from Jasmine. He left the room quickly and found Genie waiting outside the door, looking at him sheepishly.

"I thought I should be a better babysitter this time around," he whispered, shooting Aladdin a knowing look. But the hero only nodded wearily and walked back to his own room, his friend marking his steps.

Iago had settled onto a large pillow next to Xerxes and Abu, and all three of them were now soundly asleep, snoring loudly in time so that it was almost a song. Aladdin mentally laughed at the thought, but didn't want to wake them up and so kept quiet. He had almost reached his bed when Genie placed a hand on his shoulder and frowned.

"I think it would be best to make sure that if Mozenrath does try anything, he won't be able to get very far…" He trailed off and with a puff of smoke Aladdin found himself strapped into a white straitjacket, his arms wrapped tightly around himself. "It might be just for tonight," Genie stated, checking out the straps securing the buttons, "or it might be until we get him out of here." He looked up apologetically, but Aladdin merely shrugged. He was too tired to put up a fight and this was as good a solution as any.

"It's all right. For now, at least." He shot his friend a tired grin. "I'll let you know how it was in the morning."

Genie laughed and transformed into a hunched figure of an old man with large glasses and white, bushy eyebrows with a German accent. "Zee jacket has been proven to stop unwanted physical harm on zee patient, by zee patient." He pointed his finger at Aladdin's bed, creating dozens of white pillows that lined the edge. "Also, please feel free to jump around zee bed, zee padding needs to be broken in."

Aladdin tried to smile but found his muscles couldn't make the effort. He sat down clumsily on the bed's edge, pushing against the pillows with his legs as he struggled a bit against the confines of the jacket. Lying in the most comfortable position he could find, he stared up at the high vaulted ceiling and thought over the night's events. It certainly had been a long day. With a sigh he fell asleep to Mozenrath's brisk taunting in his ear.

_Don't think this is nearly over, Aladdin. It's only just begun._

* * *

_A/N: So...how is the story so far? Characterizations okay? Pace? Humor? How about our combined style?_


	4. Chapter 4

It was late morning by the time any of them awoke. Aladdin opened his eyes with effort, automatically trying to reach up to rub the sand out of them, but found both arms tightly bound by the straitjacket. With a frown he struggled in his bed, unable to sit upright or shrug the wrapping off. His frustrated sigh turned into a yelp of pain as he accidentally toppled over the side of the mattress and hit the floor.

"Genie!"

The jinni's snoring continued without ceasing despite the loud impact he had made. The three animals were also sound asleep, still snoring more or less in harmony. Only Carpet seemed to perk up and turn one tassel toward him in recognition of his voice.

"Carpet, can you wake them up?" he said helplessly, struggling to sit up.

He turned at the sound of light laughter from the doorway. Jasmine stood there, dressed in the dark purple outfit she usually wore for expeditions, holding a tray of food and a whip. Setting the whip down by the door, she shook her head as she approached and looked down at him, stifling her laughter with one hand.

"Good morning."

He tried not to blame her for laughing, but failed. "Come on, this isn't funny. I know it might look funny, but-"

"Sorry, Aladdin. Genie really outdid himself this time."

"What's with the outfit?" he asked, eyeing the whip with a mix of doubt and not quite disagreeable intrigue.

"I figured we might find ourselves in some rough situations today," she answered with a pause of realization and a teasing smile. "You're completely helpless like this, aren't you?"

She drew him up to sit on the bed beside her and reached for the first clasp on the straitjacket, pulling him closer so she could see it more clearly. He shivered under her touch. Pausing, she looked at him curiously and caught him blushing.

"Just...just get me out of this thing," he said quickly, intensely bothered by the first thoughts the sorcerer had broadcast into his mind upon waking.

_You're a sick pervert, Mozenrath. I am NOT going to stay in this ridiculous outfit._

The wizard laughed mercilessly, relishing his rival's discomfort and the apparently innocent attentions of the princess. _Why don't you ask her what she really brought the whip for?_

Jasmine knew what was going on, much to Aladdin's embarrassment, but to his surprise she merely grinned and tried to hold back another bout of laughter. Both of them glanced self-consciously around the room and saw their friends were still asleep, save for Carpet. To her credit, she undid the clasps quickly and efficiently, trying not to make things any more awkward between them. "He's really giving you a headache, isn't he?"

"That's an understatement," Aladdin scoffed. "How can you be so calm about it? Doesn't it bother you that he's with us everywhere I go?"

"Of course it does," she said, slightly miffed. "But you're sulking about it enough for the both of us. Might as well treat it with some humor."

He sighed and shrugged his arms out of the now loosened sleeves of the jacket. Standing up to stretch his limbs, he started to rouse the others and then started on his breakfast. He hadn't realized how famished he was until the enticing smell of warm bread and cheese reached his nostrils. Abu quickly scrambled over his shoulder to get at the food, and Aladdin winced at his chattering so close to his ear. Then he frowned as Xerxes slithered near, darting in to snatch a piece of bread right out of his hands.

"Hey, give that back! And get back in that cage where you belong!" he snapped angrily, but Jasmine's hand on his arm stopped him from going after the eel.

Iago flapped his wings and landed beside him on the bed. "Al, think about it. Would you really eat it if you got it back?"

Jasmine ignored the glare Aladdin fixed on the voracious eel. "Leave it be. We have enough food. Better to feed it now so it doesn't try to eat Abu or something."

Abu reeled back in disgust and a little fear, clinging to Aladdin's shoulder. The hero shrugged and let it go, but it took more mental effort than he was used to. Yet another bout of impatience he could blame on the sorcerer. He shook his head slightly as he continued eating; Mozenrath was just as cruel to his own friend--if the eel could be called a friend--as he was to his enemies.

"Mornin' Al," Genie said in a strained voice as he stretched his arms over his head. He apparently stretched them too far, for when he relaxed, his arms lay like long strings of putty on the floor. He sighed as he tried to draw them back toward his body. "It's too early in the morning for the Stretch Armstrong trick..."

"Early?" a new voice sounded. Their heads all turned toward the window, where an irritated female jinni floated in and advanced on Genie. The latter gulped and accidentally sucked in his arms like springs, his hands now sticking out of his shoulders. "Don't you think it's rather _too late_?"

The slender green jinni tapped her foot impatiently on the floor and glared directly at her boyfriend. Iago and Abu automatically drew back, afraid of how she would vent her anger. Jasmine gave Aladdin a significant look, and he shrugged helplessly, waiting for the potentially disastrous scene to play out between the jinnis.

"I'm so sorry, I know I promised I wouldn't forget this time, Eden, I just--" Genie stuttered, backing away into a wall as Eden stalked toward him with clenched fists.

"Do you have any idea how much magic it takes to leave the atmosphere and float around up there in near-absolute zero conditions for hours? Not to mention lugging around this thing-" Eden produced a long, colorfully painted board that Aladdin remembered was called a 'surfboard,' "and dodging the outer space sharks!"

"Outer...space...sharks?" Aladdin and Jasmine said softly, completely lost.

"I'm sorry Eden! I'll make it up to you, I promise! Sunsurfing season isn't over yet, there are still a few weeks left!" Genie said pleadingly. Jasmine nudged Aladdin in the shoulder, and the latter finally spoke up.

"Hey Eden, we're all sorry. It's not Genie's fault."

The jinni turned and seemed to notice everyone for the first time. She let go of the surfboard and it vanished with a poof. The frown on her face softened only slightly, growing wary as she spotted the gray eel in the background, still munching on a stolen piece of bread.

"I guess he can apologize later," she said with a huff, throwing one last irritated glance at the hapless jinni before focusing her attention on the enemy in the room. "So what's going on then? What's that vile little thing doing here? We could use it as bait for the space sharks."

Aladdin sighed as he prepared to explain the situation once again. Thankfully, Jasmine took his place.

"Mozenrath tried to take over Aladdin's body because he was dying. He failed, but they ended up sharing Aladdin's body instead. Mozenrath's old body has been destroyed, so we can't get him out. That's the short version of the story, at least," she said, looking at the jinni with a spark of hope in her eyes. "Have any ideas on how to fix this?"

"Well..." Eden said thoughtfully. Aladdin automatically felt uneasy and almost scooted away from her when she sat down beside him. She was suddenly clad in a white blouse, skirt, and hat with a red cross sewn into it. With two fingers she stretched Aladdin's eyelid and shone a blinding light into it, making him wince. "Hmm..." She checked his ears with another unidentifiable instrument, and before he could protest she stood back and drew out a jar of small squirming figures. She opened it, and what appeared to be miniature people only one or two inches high poured out of it, scattering over Aladdin's body like ants. He jerked back and tried to shake them off, alarmed and annoyed at how ticklish he was.

"Um, Eden, what are you doing?" Jasmine asked.

"The Lilliputians are getting to work!" the jinni said triumphantly, as if that explained everything.

"Lil' what?" Iago said dubiously.

"Lilliputians," Genie supplied helpfully. "They're a race of little people who don't like big people."

"Like us?" Jasmine said, also growing alarmed. Aladdin kept trying to brush them off, but the small figures got under his clothes and in his hair, and there were too many for him to handle.

"Get these--haha--off me, Eden--hahahaha!" He doubled over in laughter, soon falling to the floor and laughing uncontrollably. Jasmine covered her mouth to keep from laughing as well, but the others were not so kind. Abu and Iago were leaning on each other in mirth, and even Xerxes was cackling merrily.

"It's called tickle therapy," Eden explained, the only sober voice in the room. Genie nodded sagely and managed to stop laughing.

"I should have thought of that."

"Gets rid of unwanted tenants of the mind quite fast."

"Jasmine, hahaha, help me!" Aladdin gasped, trying to stand up and failing.

"Eden," Jasmine said, grasping the jinni's arm. "We don't want to force Mozenrath out right now! He'll die!"  
Eden gave her a puzzled look. "So? This is Evil Wizard Boy we're talking about, right? The skinny punk who turned me and Genie into old farts?"

"Yeah, that guy," Genie said, sounding apologetic. "But we're the lawful protagonists in the story, and we have to follow the Bill of Rights, even for enemies..."

Eden frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Well, if you say so. Pity, we almost got him there. See, his voice is changing just like a teenager's."

The three of them looked down at Aladdin and heard that indeed, his voice was alternating between hero and villain, creating a bizarre hiccupping mix that only made the others laugh harder.

The whir of a vacuum cleaner made them all jump as Eden passed the nozzle over Aladdin's twitching body, and streams of Lilliputians vanished into the tube with a chorus of tiny screams. Exhausted, Aladdin finally lay still on his back, and Jasmine knelt beside him, stifling her giggles.

"Can you all stop having fun at my expense..." he sighed. Then, in a sinister tone, "For once, the street rat and I are in agreement."

Eden glared down at the hero's tired face. "So we meet again, Mozenrath. If you weren't in Aladdin's body, I'd show you what jinni magic can really do."

Aladdin glared back with Mozenrath's trademark insolence. "Good; I look forward to seeing just how efficient of a power generator you'll make for my Citadel."

Eden drew back an imaginary sleeve with a muttered threat before Genie pulled her back and Jasmine stepped in once again to mediate. "Okay, let's just figure out how we can get Mozenrath out without killing anyone. You guys have thousands of years of experience in fixing weird problems, don't you? Can't you think of something? Make him a new body, or restore his old one?"

"Well..." Eden looked pensive. "I did have that one master who heard voices and wanted them to stop, but it turned out those voices were his own..."

"Oh, I've had several of those," Genie added. "Sometimes the voices would make wishes for them, and that made them real mad."

"But I actually have had some masters with spiritual roommates, so to speak. Most of them were demons, but hey, it was popular at the time."

"Demons?" Jasmine said. "What did you do?"

"Nothing," Eden said cheerfully. "There was an itinerant preacher going around then, driving out demons, making voices go away, raising the dead, you know. He was a whole lot more efficient than jinnis, let me tell you that."

"I propose that we take a more scientific approach to all of this," Genie said in a professional tone, now clad in thick glasses and a tweed suit. He pointed at the air beside them and a projector canvas unfurled rapidly from a stand. Equations began appearing in neat lines across the white sheet, and he pointed toward them with a long thin stick. "You see, it is impossible to recreate his old body because it would be a variation of the resurrection of the dead clause that jinnis cannot violate. Body and soul must be one in order for there to be life, as the law of the conservation of spiritual matter stipulates, and thus we cannot create a mere--"

"Oh, quit with the stuffy form, Genie," Eden said, and snapped her fingers. The projector canvas along with Genie's new outfit vanished. They all blinked as the room suddenly went completely dark for a moment. In the next second, there was the loud click of stage lights turning on, and they shielded their eyes as a long elevated runway appeared. The bright beams of light were all focused on the center of the stage which was draped in black curtains. Taking his cue, Genie assumed a journalist's position beside Eden with a microphone and some notes. The female jinni spoke first in an excited voice. "And now for this season's newest fashions! Anyone looking for a new body to replace that old third-century physique, just tune in tonight! We're starting in a minute!"

"Tonight is a special night, isn't it Eden?" Genie said in an equally enthusiastic tone. He turned toward his dumbfounded audience. "The fashions won't be clothes, folks, they'll be..."

"The models themselves!" Eden exclaimed as the curtains parted and the first slender black pant leg made its appearance before the now intrigued male onlookers. Jasmine's brow furrowed in further confusion.

Aladdin's mild expression of intrigue quickly turned to dismay as the slender leg belonged to a pasty-skinned, sickly-looking man in a black suit and hat. Wisps of black hair framed his hollowed cheeks and peculiar nose, which seemed rather similar to a Mamluk's in its shriveled appearance. The thin man turned abruptly, and inexplicably _glided _onto the middle of the runway with a smooth gait not even the street rat could pull off. An 80s beat began to play, and they all found it quite catchy even as the strange man began to gyrate his hips and sing in a high, feminine voice.

Genie caught the rather repulsed look on Aladdin's face, no doubt a mirror of Mozenrath's thoughts, and snapped his fingers. A long wooden cane caught the dancing and singing man around his narrow waist, yanking him back behind the curtains, and the last "ow" to leave his mouth was an exclamation of pain instead of a song lyric.

"I guess Mozey wants to go for a completely new look then?" Eden chirped.

Aladdin shot her a glare that could have raised an old corpse and sent it running in fear. "I look NOTHING like that freak."

Iago opened his mouth to offer a dissenting opinion before exercising a rare moment of self-restraint, and shut his beak wisely.

"Well then, next up in line..." Genie announced.

The lights flickered out briefly before a flash of smoke billowed across the stage, revealing a tall, menacing man in a tattered red cloak. A golden metal arm gleamed at his left side, and in his other hand rested a long gun. His solemn face was framed by long black hair, and a cloth band was wrapped around his forehead. He swept a chilling gaze across his audience and the two jinnis, narrowing his eyes before cocking the gun straight at Genie. Jasmine, Aladdin, and the others instinctively ducked in alarm.

"Does this suit your taste a little more, Mozenrath?!" Iago squawked as he dove behind a dresser.

The gun fired with an ear-splitting bang, sending a barrage of bullets into the floor straight at the two jinnis. Both of them vanished quickly, and Eden reappeared behind the mysterious man on the stage, transforming into a short, beady-eyed green creature wearing a brown robe and carrying a lantern. The jinni's black ponytail and pink lipstick remained, giving the turtle-like being a rather comical look that belied its fatal powers. Just as the gun-wielding man whirled around, there was the crisp sound of a knife slash, and the man froze before collapsing, apparently dead.

"You killed him?" Jasmine said, aghast.

Eden reverted to her normal self, a chef's knife still in her hand. "Whew, that was a close one. Oh, don't worry Jas, these types are never permanently dead." She looked down at the man's still form and shook her head in pity. "He _was _similar to Wizard Boy, though, wasn't he."

Genie rematerialized at the foot of the runway, looking sheepish. "Well, on with the show..."

"I think we can stop with this now-" Aladdin began crossly, then abruptly stopped when the curtains parted.

The high-heeled, slender-legged young woman who stepped forward was clad in a tight-fitting black dress, her blonde hair loosely pinned so that the lustrous tresses graced her bare shoulders. She returned the street rat's open-mouthed stare with a slow wink and a sly smile, beckoning him with a dainty gesture of one hand. Aladdin appeared not to notice Jasmine's adverse reaction to all of this.

Regaining his composure slightly, Aladdin spoke with Mozenrath's cool but intrigued voice. "If that is a real woman, I would like an introduction."

Genie's face brightened as the latest model didn't cause dismay or damage to the palace. "The name's Scarlett Johan--"

"Ow!" Aladdin exclaimed, rubbing his arm where Jasmine had hit him. He drew back from her glare in self-defense. "Mozenrath's the one who said it!"

The princess' scowl hardly changed, but she said nothing, merely folding her arms. Eden seemed to take the hint, and in a second the beautiful woman on the stage disappeared. Aladdin hid his disappointment as best as he could, but it was difficult with the sorcerer trying to provoke the opposite action.

The model show deteriorated after that, growing more outlandish and pointless with each character that the jinnis conjured. Aladdin realized Jasmine was only allowing it to continue because it was somewhat humorous, perhaps thinking it would lighten his tense mood. He immediately felt sorry and knew it was time to tell Genie and Eden to stop and look for a real solution. But when he stood to speak, it was Mozenrath who voiced his opinion first.

"Enough of this charade. If you weak excuses for jinnis can't produce a new body, and you're too morally principled to kill one of these humans on display to let me have their body, then it looks like I'll have to take matters into my own hands."

The jinnis grew serious with that remark, sensing danger in his tone. Aladdin's voice interrupted the sorcerer. "As if we could ever trust you, Mozenrath!"

"We have no choice!"

"And whose fault is that?"

"Fool! We must return to my citadel!"

"And fall into another one of your traps?"

"I don't have time for your endless nagging! Just listen to me!"

A strip of duct tape suddenly cemented itself over the street rat's mouth, blocking out the argument that was spiraling into pointlessness. Aladdin struggled to tear it off, but Genie put an arm around his shoulders, trying to ease the hostility raging within him. "Come on Al, you don't have to respond to everything he says."

Aladdin succeeded in tearing the duct tape off his mouth, leaving the tender skin red and sore. "You try sharing a body with this freak for a full day!"

Surprisingly, Mozenrath didn't reply. Aladdin looked around him in puzzlement, forgetting that the sorcerer was within him and not beside him, as he wondered why Mozenrath hadn't shot back any insults in return. Then he caught a glimpse of the retreating form of the princess a moment before she vanished into the hallway, clearly upset.

He drew in a sharp breath of self-reprimand and dragged a hand through his hair in exasperation, shaking off Genie's arm from his shoulders. In a rare moment of unity that was as disturbing as it was relieving to the street rat, Aladdin and Mozenrath moved after her simultaneously.

Unfortunately, at that moment a giant blast shook the palace walls and threw them all off their feet. Pieces of the ceiling crumbled down around them, scattering the three animals with a chorus of whimpers and squeaks. The two jinnis immediately dressed themselves in combat fatigues and high-tech weaponry.

A disembodied, crazed cackle filled the air. "Did you all miss me?"

Aladdin bristled as he leaped to his feet, ready to defend himself and his friends. The voice, still unseen, continued with another insane laugh. "I brought a friend this time..."

* * *

_A/N: Finally, a change of pace. Well, how was this chapter?_

_Extra points for knowing who the second model and Eden's transformation were (Mengde and demonegg, you don't count :))._


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